Drug dealer arrested for selling heroin to undercover police officer in TA

The undercover officer who performed the sting operation on the accused trafficker bought NIS 1,000 worth of heroin from the dealer, containing several "doses" of the drug.

By ZACHARY KEYSER
Updated: FEBRUARY 18, 2019 13:40
A needle used for shooting heroin and other opioids and an empty bag litter the ground in the Kensington section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. October 26, 2017. (photo credit: REUTERS/CHARLES MOSTOLLER)
A needle used for shooting heroin and other opioids and an empty bag litter the ground in the Kensington section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. October 26, 2017.
(photo credit: REUTERS/CHARLES MOSTOLLER)
An indictment was filed against a suspected drug-trafficker accused of selling heroin to an undercover police officer in a sting operation carried out by the Tel Aviv police department on Sunday.
As a part of the police's war on drugs, local authorities have been performing numerous covert operations employing undercover police officers to carry out controlled buys in hopes of catching drug-traffickers who "pose a danger to the safety and well-being of [law-abiding] citizens" in the act throughout Tel Aviv.
The undercover officer who performed the sting operation on the accused trafficker bought NIS 1,000 worth of heroin from the dealer, containing several "doses" of the drug.
The Tel Aviv District Prosecutor decided to file the indictment and arrest warrant against the suspect before the weekend, approved by the court, which-after the subject was subsequently charged, arrested and booked to await trial.
While deaths from abuse of opioids in the US are rampant – at 33,000 in 2015 – the death rate in Israel is 1/30 of that and declining, according to a study at Ariel University.
The study found that the already low mortality rate in Israel has been declining in recent years – a clear reversal of the notion that everything that happens in the US eventually gets to Israel.
Israel’s illicit NIS 6 billion drug market includes approximately 100 tons of marijuana annually entering the country, primarily through the Egyptian border, about three tons of cocaine via Lebanon and Jordan, and up to four tons of heroin, from Lebanon and Egypt.
According to the Anti-Drug Authority, addiction to narcotics in Israel transformed from a “marginal concern” in the 80s, to ensnaring some 25,000 full-blown addicts, largely due to Western influences and greater access.
Among all addicts in the country, approximately 8,300 are presently undergoing treatment at a rehabilitation facility. The success rates are not very high, however, with only one-third being fully rehabilitated.
“They need between one and three doses of drugs a day, usually heroin,” the authority said.
Judy Siegel-Itzkovich and Daniel K. Eisenbud contributed to this report.